Sticky Hooves
by Cam Newton
Summary: Applebloom has recently found herself in the throes of a thieving problem. As it comes to engulf all aspects of her life, she attempts to overcome it while trying to spare herself and her family. It proves to be harder to manage than she had anticipated and, inevitably, it all falls apart. Applebloom is forced to learn the futility of trying to fight a problem she can't understand.


**A/N: Do you like commas and quotation marks? Well, too bad, because I don't use either. Instead, I use quotation dashes for dialogue. There are no commas, mostly for stylistic purposes. **

* * *

_Sticky Hooves_

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had reached Fast One's General Store before they knew it. Fast One's General Store opened up in Ponyville's town center last week. It was an unassuming dark green building with large windows and a glass door. It had a crow-stepped gable on all sides. It the hot sun it looked really ugly.

Scootaloo said:

―What are we doing here? I don't want to be here.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―We haven't been here yet?

―So we have to be here? I don't want to be here.

The saddlebag on Applebloom's back felt heavy. It felt heavy all morning. It got heavier since school let out. Somehow.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―Well where do you want to go?

Scootaloo said:

―I don't know. I mean…we should be out crusading somewhere. Not standing around at some grocery store. I mean…we could be doing things like…oh! Like launching ourselves into space! That would be awesome! Like we could find a really big mountain. Right? I could be on my scooter and you guys could be on the wagon. Right? We could go down the mountain like a giant ramp and could be in space!

―Space?

Scootaloo had a vivid look on her face when she talked that way. She lit up like a light bulb. Somewhat like Sweetie-Belle. Sweetie-Belle had that look all the time. She had it even when she was bored. It was cute. Scootaloo had a more intense and brash look most of the time. It was somewhat cute but not like Sweetie-Belle. They were two different kinds of cute. Except when Scootaloo rambled on about awesome things. Then she was Sweetie-Belle cute.

Scootaloo said:

―Yeah. Space. Oh! Or maybe we could find Rainbow Dash. Yeah. Rainbow Dash is awesome. Let's do that.

Sweetie-Belle appeared hesitant all of a sudden. She said:

―Oh. I don't know.

―Why not?

―Well…I don't think Rainbow Dash likes me.

―What? Where'd you get that idea?

―I don't know. It's just…I've never really talked to her before or anything. I don't think she would like me.

―Oh. Well…oh.

Scootaloo turned away and looked down. She started looking hesitant too. Like Sweetie-Belle. Applebloom wondered how all three of them must've looked like at that moment. Dejected and apprehensive. Brooding and stiff. Maybe not dejected. Applebloom was the only one who was dejected. She had been staring at the ground for a long time. She was breathing somewhat labored. Like she couldn't get enough air. She stared at things and she stared right pass them. Her friends talked and she heard them but she couldn't see them. She looked at things and they weren't really there. She floated around in limbo. Limbo right? Was that the right word? Sure. Limbo.

―I don't want to be here, Scootaloo said.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―C'mon Scootaloo.

―Why are we here? Why do we have to be here?

―I thought it'd be fun to buy some stuff. I've been saving up the allowance Rarity's been giving me. So I thought I could buy something for all of us.

―Oh…really? How much do you have?

Sweetie-Belle smirked and proudly patted one of the pockets of her saddlebag. A metallic jingle came out of it. She said:

―Ten bits.

Scootaloo scoffed gently and said:

―Ten bits?

―Yup.

―Wow. What? Does Rarity give you like a bit a week or something?

―Um…yeah.

―Oh.

―Is that bad?

―No. Nevermind.

―Oh…okay.

Scootaloo thought for a moment and said:

―What can you buy with ten bits?

―I don't know. Candy?

―Candy?

―Uh…yeah.

There was suddenly a ton of pent up energy in Applebloom's legs. She put her hoof through a loop of her bow and pulled it slightly. Then the bow felt off and she pulled it the other way. Her hind legs twitched. She tried to concentrate. Where was her bow? To the left. Pull. To the right. Pull. Somewhere else. Pull. Where was the center?

―You brought us all the way over here just to buy candy? Scootaloo said.

―Don't you like candy? Sweetie-Belle said.

―Freakin' candy Sweetie-Belle?

―I'm hungry.

―What?

―And I want some candy.

There it was. What of it? What then? Nothing to think about. Applebloom looked around and couldn't see anything. Back to limbo. Legs twitching. Heart racing. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Everything was fine. Everything was okay. The dreadful feeling wouldn't leave. Heart racing. Twitching. Deeper breaths. In and out. Out and in. Whoops. In and out. Calm down. Still there. Even more than before. Suddenly a push. Her left shoulder. A push again. The surroundings came back. Once more. She turned to her left. Sweetie-Belle was pushing her. Sweetie-Belle's voice came out like a cannonball. She was saying:

―Hey Applebloom!

Back to earth. That was better. Marginally.

―What? Applebloom said.

―Don't you want some candy?

―What?

―Candy.

―Candy?

―Yeah.

―Oh…uh sure. Why not?

Sweetie-Belle turned to Scootaloo and stared intently at her. Applebloom turned with her. Less intently.

―Scootaloo? Sweetie-Belle said.

Sweetie-Belle looked sad and expectant. Scootaloo stared back at her with her annoyed and reluctant manner.

―Don't you want some candy?

Scootaloo huffed and turned away. She snapped back to Sweetie-Belle after a moment and said:

―Let's get some friggin' candy.

Sweetie-Belle cheered softly and quickly hugged Scootaloo before hopping into the store. Scootaloo followed. Applebloom was more tentative. She felt slightly lightheaded. Maybe it was the allergies.

The bell at the top of door rang out when the door opened. Ding-ding-ding. That was cute.

The general store was surprisingly spacious inside. Ten aisles were arranged in five chevrons pointing away from the door and towards the cashier's desk. That was where Fast One was sitting. Fast One was a pure white pony. Like Sweetie-Belle. His mane was jet black and disheveled. Like Scootaloo's. Except black. He was resting his head by the temple on his hoof. He was tapping the glass of the counter with the other. The hollow sound rang through the store. Ding-ding-ding. There were some other ponies throughout the store but they hardly made a sound. Ding-ding-ding. Just some quiet ambiance. Ding-ding-ding. Fast One's eyes looked weary and had bags under them. They stared half-heartedly at nothing. The other half was somewhere else. Ding-ding-ding. Maybe back home. Wherever that was. Ding-ding-ding. Maybe somewhere in the store. Ding-ding-ding.

It was nice and cold inside the store. Sweetie-Belle said:

―It feels nice in here.

Scootaloo said:

―Let's just buy some candy already.

The three fillies began walking down the middle of the chevrons . Fast One was coming up. Closer and closer. The aisles were lined with bags and cans and jars and whole assortments of unnamable things. Scattered ponies walked aimlessly. Fast One was like a statue. He was staring down and past the floor. Something dreadful was going to happen. Something was sinking in Applebloom's gut.

―Why couldn't we go to Sugarcube Corner or something? Scootaloo said. There's candy there. Isn't there?

Sweetie-Belle said:

―I'd thought we'd try something new. Don't you like trying new things?

―But this place looks like crap.

―But…don't you like trying new things?

―But this place looks like crap.

The air was thinning. Deep breaths. Applebloom could feel her lungs grasp desperately at every bit of oxygen. Not enough. Not working. Her heart raced. Small beats of the drum thumping quietly in her chest. They sounded like footsteps in the distance.

The three made it up to Fast One's counter. Fast One brought his eyes up to look at them but didn't move otherwise. To his right was a glass cabinet of some sort. There were rows of glazed pastries inside. When Scootaloo saw them she started jabbing at Sweetie-Belle's side. She said:

―Oh oh oh! Look over there Sweetie-Belle.

―What? Sweetie-Belle said. What is it?

Scootaloo pointed to the glass cabinet and said:

―Those. Over there.

―What? Those pastries?

Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle walked over to the glass cabinet. Fast One followed them with his eyes while moving as little as possible. Applebloom lagged behind and looked up at him. His eyes were bright yellow. Their natural color. Almost sickly in a way. Applebloom hadn't seen anything like that before. Ding-ding-ding. The tapping on the counter had gotten louder. Ding-ding-ding. His body was silent. Like a statue. Applebloom thought she could hear Scootaloo's and Sweetie-Belle's heart's beating and their lungs breathing whenever she was close to them. She couldn't hear that from Fast One. He seemed tense. Applebloom stared at him and she started feeling tense. And dreadful. That undeniable dread.

Scootaloo said:

―Can you buy me one of those?

Sweetie-Belle stared at the glass cabinet with a hesitant look on her face. She said:

―Oh. I don't know Scootaloo.

―Oh come on. Please?

―It costs a lot.

―Please please please?

Sweetie-Belle sat on the floor. Hind legs spread. Forelegs in front of her. Fast One shifted his head towards the three fillies. His eyes had narrowed. He inhaled sharply and said:

―Hey. You three.

The three fillies turned toward Fast One.

―You girls better not get sticky with anything here. You got that?

Applebloom's skin felt like it had tightened. Sweetie-Belle turned to Scootaloo with a confused look on her face and said:

―What?

Scootaloo ignored her and said to Fast One:

―We're not going to take anything.

Fast One said:

―Uh-huh. Those saddlebags better be empty when you leave.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. She and Sweetie-Belle turned back to the glass cabinet. Fast One went back to staring at nothing.

―Fucking kids.

Scootaloo said:

―We heard that.

―I don't care.

Applebloom kept on looking at Fast One. His looks and the sound of his voice were odd. He couldn't have been older than Applejack or her friends. He was probably even younger than applejack and her friends. That was odd. So young and already running his own store. Maybe that wasn't so odd. Applebloom wasn't sure what to think of it. She was sure that being around Fast One was making her nervous. Yes. That was it. Fast One started tapping on the glass again. Ding-ding-ding. /that sound was making her nervous. Yes. That was it. That was part. Her whole body had twitched rather violently when Fast One mentioned shoplifting. She wasn't a thief. She wasn't a bad pony. Why would he think she would be? What would he know? Nothing. He hadn't seen her and her friends for more than a minute. He didn't know her. She wasn't a thief. She wasn't a bad pony. He didn't know her. He was rude too. Who swears at little fillies? Little fillies who did nothing. Fast One was paranoid and mean. Fast One's temperament was making her nervous. Yes. That was it. That was part of it. It was Fast One. The whole pony. Fast One.

Scootaloo jabbed at Sweetie-Belle's side and said:

―Come on Sweetie-Belle. Can't you buy me the one thing? Please? Pretty Please?

Sweetie-Belle said:

―But it's really expensive Scoot.

―It's only seven bits.

―Yeah. It's seven bits.

―And you have ten bits.

―Yeah. I have ten bits.

―So…you can afford it.

―Yeah. I can.

―So…what's—

―But I would only have three bits left.

―Oh.

―I wouldn't have enough to buy me and Applebloom anything.

Applebloom had to leave. The air was getting thinner and thinner. She felt like she was drowning. Something sank further down her stomach. Her legs were shaking like rubber. They had minds of their own. They wouldn't stop. And it was hot. So hot. She was sweating so much. It was cold. So cold. When she wiped the sweat of her head and the air passed over her she felt like she was freezing. It was all becoming unbearable. If she left she would feel better. Yes. She would feel much better. Yes. As far away from the store as possible. Maybe even back home. Yes. She had to go home. That was a safe place.

Applebloom patted Sweetie-Belle on the shoulder and said;

―Um hey…Sweetie-Belle?

Sweetie-Belle turned around and said:

―Hm?

―Uh I don't…um…I-I don't want to…um I don't want anything.

―Oh. Okay. That's fine.

―And uh ya' know what? Uh…I think I'll just…I'll just wait for ya'll outside. I uh I need the fresh air. Heh heh.

Applebloom couldn't understand why she laughed. That was odd. She only talked like that when she lied. She wasn't lying. She needed the fresh air. She really did. She didn't say she was going right outside the store. She could've meant anywhere outside. Like outside her front door. That counted as outside. There was fresh air there too.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―Um. Okay then. We'll see you outside.

Sweetie-Belle looked confused and concerned. Applebloom noticed that she looked like that a lot. Poor Sweetie-Belle. She was kind of slow. Wasn't she? That wasn't nice. Though at the same time not entirely untruthful. She didn't get a lot of things. She needed an explanation for everything. Applebloom would have to explain to Sweetie-Belle why she left for home instead of waiting outside the shop. Scootaloo too. Scootaloo seemed like a smart pony. Smarter than Sweetie-Belle anyway. Scootaloo wasn't the kind of pony who asked a lot of questions though. Not of her friends anyway. She was rather trusting. Of her friends anyway. Applebloom was grateful that her friends were that way. That wasn't nice. It was true though. If she was in their position she would've definitely been suspicious of what she was doing. She would have tried to figure out what was going on. She would have found something. Something not so nice. But her friends weren't like her. She was glad she wasn't friends with two of herself.

Applebloom turned and began walking away. Scootaloo jabbed Sweetie-Belle again and said:

―See? Applebloom doesn't want anything. So now you have enough money for yourself.

―But I'll still just have three bits, Sweetie-Belle said.

―Yeah. And?

―What am I supposed to buy with just three bits?

―Well…there are things in here that are worth three bits.

The path down the middle of the chevrons and to the front door seemed impossibly long. Applebloom took a deep breath and started her way down. She had to leave. This place was wrong. The store was a place bad. Bad place. Ugh. She shouldn't have gone there. Outside it was very bright. The contrast from the dimly lit store made the glass door seem to shine brilliantly. That's where she needed to go. Out of purgatory and into paradise.

Sweetie-Belle was talking.

―But…I kind of wanted one of those pastry thingys too, she said.

Scootaloo said:

―Well…maybe you should've saved up more bits before dragging all of us here.

―Well…how was I supposed to know that I needed to save up more?

―Well…okay. Look. How about you buy just one and we can split it?

―Uh…okay. We can do that I guess.

The dreadful feeling was getting worse. What was it like this time? Applebloom wanted to run out of the store and get home as fast as she could. But running would only make it worse. What was it? Something in her stomach. She looked back at Fast One. He was slouching on his counter. Tapping on the surface. Ding-ding-ding. He stared blankly at the ground. Ding-ding-ding. Something about him felt fake. Ding-ding-ding. He was looking at the ground and at the same time he wasn't. His ghostly presence was somewhere else in the store.

Scootaloo said:

―Alright!

She waved at Fast One and said:

―Hey! Jerk. We want to buy something.

Fast One turned slightly to glare at Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle. He said:

―Oh really?

Sweetie-Belle said:

―Yes. Can we have one of those pastry thingys? Please?

Fast One languidly lifted himself. He groaned and his bones cracked. He opened the glass cabinet and grab a pastry tray with his mouth. He brought it to the register and dropped it unceremoniously onto the counter.

Applebloom decided that was her cue. She turned back to the shining door. She slowly lifted one foot in front of the other. One by one. Each movement forward stirring her stomach with an uplifting churning. Like her bladder was full or something. The uncomfortable mixing and pushing of her innards towards a breaking point. Those weren't nice things to think about. Thinking about it only made it worse.

Fast One said:

―That'll be eight bits.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―Eight? What? I thought they were only seven.

―They're eight.

―But…it says they're seven over there.

―Yeah. Now they're eight.

Scootaloo chimed in and said:

―Hey! You can't do that!

Something pushed up against Applebloom's throat. Like she wanted to cry. What a strange feeling. Why cry? Only babies cry for no reason. She was a big girl. She could handle anything. She was tougher than Scootaloo. Scootaloo liked to act tough but she was tougher than Scootaloo. Definitely more than Sweetie-Belle. They're both just big softies at heart. The cold sweat got heavier. That didn't make a whole lot of sense. That was okay. It was nothing. The room was hot. Then it was cold. Hot again. Cold. That was okay. Everything was okay. She didn't really need to throw up. Really. That was just some bizarre phantom nausea. She wasn't sick. Physically. There was no reason to throw up. There was no reason to feel that way. No reason. It didn't make sense. It couldn't have been real then. Why didn't it go away? Her legs felt weak. Her bones ached. Or was it her muscles? Bones. Muscles. Bones. Muscles. Applejack always said she never drank enough milk. Yes. That was it. Yes. Maybe a pit stop. That sounded nice. Yes. Very nice. She had been walking for a while. A couple seconds. That was enough. She had made it to the second aisle. That was enough.

Fast One said:

―I can do whatever the hell I want. It's my store.

Scootaloo said:

―But that's seven bits. You can't just make it eight.

―I just did.

―But that's not right!

―Yes it is. I own the store.

―But…but it's still not right.

―Yes it is. Here. I'll do it again. Now it's nine bits.

―What?

―Yes. Nine bits. Fork it over if you want your damn food.

―No way. That's crazy.

―Fine. Nothing for you then.

―Oh come on! That's not fair.

―I don't have to be fair. Look. I'll do it again. Ten bits. See?

―Ten?

Sweetie-Belle said:

―That's all my money.

Fast One mumbled:

―Well doesn't that just suck?

Scootaloo said:

―Why are you such a jerk? What did we ever do to you?

―You existed at me.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―What?

Applebloom turned into the aisle. The shelves seemed to dance around her. Like a small earthquake was happening. What was on the shelves. She couldn't make them out. Just colors and words melting into each other. The way they swayed and flipped in the air was making her sick. Shouldn't they be falling? Even sicker. It was wrong. Ooooo. So wrong. It was so crazy. Everything was okay. Ding-ding-ding. Nothing's wrong. Ding-ding-ding. Stop thinking like that. Ooooo. No reason to feel nauseous. She wasn't crazy. Not at all. She was just crazy. In a different way. If she'd just stop worrying and relax she'd be alright. Yes. Ding-ding-ding. Yes. She was just tired. Yes. Tired. Yes. That's why her legs ached so much. That's why the walls looked like they were bending. Ponies get a little loopy when they're tired. Yes. Of course. That's why her saddlebag was so heavy. What was in there? Bricks? The air was so thin. Why couldn't she catch a breath? Like being on a summit of a mountain. Oh yeah. Tired. She needed to sit down. Yes. A break. She sat down near the end of the aisle and took off her saddlebag. The top flap was open. She must've not closed it when she left school. There was only a simple notebook inside. No bricks. She placed her saddlebag. She placed her saddlebag between her hind legs and stuck her face inside. Still sick. Still nauseous. There was enough space in the bag for some vomit. If she did it really quickly no one would notice. Ugh. That was gross. Why was she thinking like that? Stop. Why was she feeling like that? Stop. Ugh. It was no use. No use. She couldn't stop. Stop. Ugh. If she went home it still wouldn't stop. Stop. There was only one thing that would make it stop. Stough. Ugps. She knew that. Ding-ding-ding. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. If she did it really quickly no one would notice. That was a bad thought. There was no choice. No choice. No use. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes.

Scootaloo said:

―Okay. Fine. We'll pay for it.

Fast One said:

―Isn't that nice?

Sweetie-Belle said:

―But Scootaloo. That's all my money.

Scootaloo said:

―Come on Sweetie-Belle. You weren't going to spend your change anyway.

―I don't know…it's all my money.

―Come on Sweetie-Belle.

―I don't know.

Fast One said:

―Holy crap. Are you two fools going to buy this awful thing or are you just going to stand there and yap like idiots all day?

―Geez, Scootaloo said. Calm down guy. Pay him Sweetie-Belle. Then we can get out of here.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―Oh…alright.

―Alright!

―Wonderful, Fast One mumbled.

Applebloom didn't have a lot of time left. She closed her eyes shut and turned away. She shoved her hoof into the shelf to her left and pushed a bunch of assorted goods into her saddlebag. What were they? They felt like cans. Or bags. Cans and or bags of something. No. She tried not to think about it. She closed her saddlebag and threw it on her back. She had to leave. She had to leave. She had to leave. There was suddenly all this energy. She took off running out of the aisle and towards the front door. Running only made it worse but she couldn't help herself. She pushed open the glass door and dived out of the store. Free at last. Free at last. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief. Everything returned to normal. The bad feelings went away. No more nausea. No more dread. Her whole body was taken by an odd draining sensation. Draining? Yes. That was the right word. Like a cleansing. It felt so nice.

Applebloom picked herself up and looked at the sky. She said:

―Thank goodness.

Scootaloo came out of the store. She was holding half of some sort of a pastry in her mouth. She said:

—Hey Afflevoom.

She threw the whole thing into her mouth and finished it off in a couple of bites. Applebloom turned to her and said:

―Hey Scoot.

―Where have you been?

―Oh. Just waiting out here. Like I said I would. Yeah. I needed to…fresh air. Yeah. I was feeling kind of sick.

―Really? You're sick?

―Well…not anymore.

Scootaloo walked up closer to Applebloom. There was a slightly concerned look on her face. Her eyes were big and she was frowning. She said:

―Are you okay?

Applebloom said:

―What? I mean yeah. I'm fine.

―Are you sure?

―Yes Scootaloo. I'm sure.

Applebloom felt her body tense up again. Scootaloo kept looking at her with those concerned awkward eyes. She didn't like it. She was fine. How many times did she have to say it?

Scootaloo said:

―Okay. If you say so.

Sweetie-Belle came out of the store and walked up to the other two. She said:

―Hey Applebloom.

Applebloom greeted her back. Sweetie-Belle turned to Scootaloo expectantly and said:

―Hey Scootaloo. Where's the cake thingy I bought?

Scootaloo's eyes went touched her hoof to her mouth and looked down to her left. A familiar guilty look swept over her. She said:

―Uh…are you sure you don't have the other half?

―Yeah. You left with the whole thing.

―Are you sure? I'm…pretty sure that I gave you the other half.

―No…you didn't.

Scootaloo had on a nervous grin. Sweetie-Belle's eyes went wide also and her mouth went ajar. She said:

―Scootaloo! I thought you said we were going to split it!

―I'm sorry Sweetie-Belle. I guess I…forgot?

―And then you go ahead and eat it without me!

―Yeah. That's…what happened. Look I'm sorry. Okay?

―I spent all my money on it too.

―I'll pay you back.

―I saved up that money for like three months.

―It's just ten bits. I can give you some of my allowance tomorrow.

―I don't want money. I want my pastry!

―I said I was sorry.

―I try to do something nice for you and then you go ahead and eat it without me!

―What?

―I spent all my money and I get nothing. You took it all from me. You thief!

That word. Ooooo. Ugh.

―Sweetie-Belle you're acting like a baby, Scootaloo said.

Applebloom got in between her two friends and wrapped her forelegs around them. She put on a nervous smile She wasn't too worried though. They all bickered from time to time. She said:

―Hey hey hey. C'mon girls. Let's all just calm down.

Scootaloo said:

―I'm calm. Sweetie-Belle's the one who's going all crazy.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―That's only because she's a thief!

That word again. Applebloom's skin tingled. She said:

―C'mon. Let's not argue. Now Sweetie-Belle. Scootaloo's going to pay you back tomorrow. And…I'll bring you a slice of pie for school. How does that sound to the two of you?

Scootaloo nodded tentatively and said:

―I can do that.

Sweetie-Belle huffed and said:

―Fine.

Applebloom let the two fillies go. She felt triumphant. Job well done. Where would her friends be without her? Everypony was happy once again.

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head and said:

―I'm sorry Sweetie-Belle. Again. Really. I am.

Sweetie-Belle sighed and said:

―Yeah. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten so hysterical. Like Rarity says I do.

Applebloom clapped her hooves together and said:

―Aww!

―Geez Applebloom, Scootaloo said.

Scootaloo shifted the position of the saddlebag on her back.

―I should go home. I have homework to do. My parents are going to bite my head off if I get home too late anyway.

Sweetie-Belle said:

―I'll walk you home?

―Like always right? Let's go.

Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle waved at Applebloom and said in unison:

―Bye Applebloom.

Applebloom waved back and said:

―Bye girls. I'll see you both at school.

Scootaloo and Sweetie-Belle leisurely walked off into the distance. Applebloom sat around and thought. She also had homework to do. A lot actually. She hadn't been keeping up lately. That was bad. Applejack probably wanted her to help around Sweet Apple Acres when she got home too. Applejack needed all the help she could get. She really did. Applebloom hoped she didn't have to spend the whole day working.

Applebloom shifted her saddlebag on her back. A strange metallic jingle came from inside. It was a lot heavier then she remembered. She pondered for a second before it dawned on her.

―Uh…oh.

There was also that to take care of.

Applebloom found herself back in her room. When she got home she found that Applejack and Big Macintosh were working out in the orchard. Granny Smith told her that they had been out there all day. Especially Applejack. Then Granny Smith sighed. She had been doing that a lot lately. There was probably a lot on her mind. Applebloom didn't like it. She didn't like to think about it. She had enough to think about as it was.

Applebloom had spilled the contents of her saddlebag on her bedroom floor. There was the one notebook. Then there was the stuff from Fast One's General Store. For the first time she saw what she had taken. A couple of bags of cookies. Some cans of tonic. Cream flavored. She didn't usually drink tonic. Cream was her favorite when she did though. She wasn't quiet in the mood for it at the time.

Applebloom pushed her dresser a couple of feet off. One of the floorboards underneath was slightly lifted. It came off from the floor easily with a flick from Applebloom's hoof. She looked down into the hole. There was an unorganized pile of random stuff just below. Random crap from many different places. She could remember where she got some of them. She couldn't for the others. Some of the things had been in there for a while. All of Ponyville was represented in that hole in the floor. Maybe. Maybe from some other places too. If only she could remember. That was an interesting way to put it. Romantic. It sounded nice. That was wrong. There was nothing romantic about what she was doing. It needed to stop. She wasn't a bad pony. No way. No. She wasn't a thief. She just wasn't. of course not. No.

Applebloom shoved the bags and cans into the hole. They made a dull sound as they hit the wood. Thunk. Normally she would be a bit more ginger with it. Granny Smith was the only one in the house. She had a hard time hearing. There was nothing to worry about. The cans and bags were placed haphazardly into the pile with the rest of the stuff. She placed the floorboard back into its right place and did the same with the dresser. Now there was nothing to worry about. Not anymore. Out of sight and out of mind. Was that how they said it? Out of sight and out of mind? She was happy with that. Yes. She was happy. She tried to forget about what she just did. There was no reason to think about it. She was the only one who knew about the whole thing. Out of sight and out of mind. Nothing to worry about. Back to normalcy. She was happy. She should be happy. She was. Yes. Of course she was.

Applebloom jumped on her bed and lied back. She was tired all of a sudden. She didn't want to do anything. She had homework to do. She didn't want to do it. There was a lot of it. She still didn't want to do it. She just wanted to sleep. She couldn't. Her heart raced. She could feel it in her neck. She felt too bad. Yes. She felt bad. That was a good way to put it. Not like she felt in the general store. Not quite as heavy and urgent. Still bad though. It was more subtle and dormant. Gloomy. Depressed. No. Not depressed. She was happy. She had to be. There was no reason not to be. This was it. She wasn't going to do it anymore. The store and the bags and the cans were the last time. Yes. The last time. Yes. She was going to stop.

A door opened somewhere. Must've been the front. She could hear Applejack's muffled voice through the floorboards. The wood could be thin sometimes. Applejack said:

―Hey Granny Smith.

Granny Smith must've greeted her back. It was hard to understand what she said.

There was Big Macintosh. He said:

―We just came in here for a break.

Applejack was panting faintly in the background. She sounded almost like a train.

Then Granny Smith again. She said:

―You…all day.

It was hard to hear.

―The…wouldn't…used to. Not like this.

Applejack was still panting. Big Macintosh again. He said:

―I wish we didn't. Times…hard…what we can.

Applejack came in finally. She said:

―We need to get back out there.

She was panting.

―Can you get me some of the hard cider Big Mac?

Granny Smith said:

―You shouldn't drink so much of the stuff. It's…you.

―I know. I know. I just need it to perk me up a bit. I need to get back out there.

―You worry too much. I know that…but…calm down.

―I am calm. I just…

Applejack was panting slower now. Granny Smith said:

―I know. You…hopeful.

Applebloom took her pillow and pulled it over her face. She felt the energy drain more and more from her body. Somehow she still couldn't fall asleep. She growled feebly into the pillow.

Applejack was still panting. She said:

―It's just…

Thunk.

―I'm just…

Applebloom thought about the loose floorboard. The pile of other ponies' things. She could feel them.

―I don't know.

She tried not to.

* * *

**She wanted to steal but not to buy. **


End file.
